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Late Title Transfer Penalties to Increase July 1
(PIERRE, SD) – The director of the state Division of Motor Vehicles is advising vehicle owners who have been delinquent in transferring vehicle titles to get the job done before July 1, 2008 or they’ll be facing increased financial penalties.
According to Debra Hillmer, currently if an owner applies for a vehicle title and registration beyond 30 days from the date they purchased the vehicle they’re assessed a late title application fee of $1 per week for up to 25 weeks and $50 for anything beyond that. No penalty or interest is applied to the 3% motor vehicle excise tax. Hillmer says with the implementation of the new SDcars system (Customized Automated Registration System), that process will change beginning July 1.
“The new system can be programmed to assess fees on both the 4% manufactured home initial registration fee and the 3% motor vehicle excise tax,” Hillmer said. “If vehicle owners take care of their delinquent title transfers prior to July 1, they can avoid paying some of those additional fees.”
Under the fee changes, all fees will be assessed from the purchase date, regardless of when an applicant applies for title and registration. SDcars automatically assesses interest on the tax owed for each month or part thereof for which the tax payment is late at the rate of 1.25% or $5, whichever is greater, for the first month, and 1.25% per month thereafter on any application made after 30 days from the date the vehicle is purchased. A one-time penalty equal to 10% of the tax or $10, whichever is greater, is automatically applied against any application made after 60 days from the purchase date.
Hillmer reminds vehicle owners that county treasurer offices will be closed to vehicle title and registration business on Monday, June 30, 2008 to allow for conversion to the new SDcars system. To avoid the July 1 penalty changes, vehicle owners should plan to clear up any late title transfers by Friday, June 27, 2008.
For more information on transferring titles, contact your local county treasurer or the Division of Motor Vehicles at 605.773.3541.
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